Kantoor Menzis
Groningen, Netherlands
de Architekten Cie

Stairs twist through a series of atria like single strands of DNA

	Index | Project Specs
	Click here for slide show. Photo © Luuk Kramer

In creating offices for Menzis, a European health insurance company, de Architekten Cie divided a 12-story building into three segments and rotated them at 90-degree angles to one another. Atria with spiral staircases rise through the core of each segment, forming an internal response to the building’s dynamic exterior—they almost resemble strands of DNA, an apt metaphor for a health concern.

The building’s bottom four stories, “the foot,” accommodate public functions including service desks, an insurance shop, and a healthcare service center. A more private area houses physicians’ consulting rooms, while the third and fourth stories contain meeting rooms, a library, training areas, an auditorium, and a restaurant. Spacious staircases, which allow easy public access, flow through the atrium to the restaurant and meeting center above. They offer an unimpeded view of both the inner atrium and the water of a nearby canal.

The building’s middle and upper segments, each also composed of four stories, both contain generic space. The atria divide floors into a series of working areas with distinct qualities: peripheral or secluded, light or well-shaded, open or closed. The variation in spatial conditions allows for diverse office concepts including a call center, administrative functions, and staff functions. The atria stairs facilitate informal contact between the floors.

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Formal name of project:
Kantoor Menzis

Location:
Groningen, Netherlands

Gross square footage:
215,278 sq. ft.

Owner:
Menzis zorg en inkomen

Architect:
de Architekten Cie
Keizersgracht 126
1015 CW Amsterdam, Netherlands
20-530-93-00 tel.
20-530-93-99 fax
arch@cie.nl
www.cie.nl

Click here to see all the people and products behind this project